How Natoma Manufacturing Closed a Regional Manufacturing Skills Gap Through Internships
Natoma Manufacturing is a precision CNC contract manufacturer located in Norton, Kansas. The company manufactures build-to-order, precision-machined parts from a variety of materials, maintaining ISO 9001 and AS9100 certifications and strict adherence to those standards.
Natoma is committed to understanding, meeting, and exceeding customer requirements by continuously improving skills, capabilities, processes, and management systems. However, meeting that standard became harder as the company faced a common manufacturing challenge: recruiting and retaining skilled labor in a small community.
The Challenges
Talent Pool: The direct B2B supplier was experiencing continued challenges when recruiting skilled labor. In fact, the small community’s talent pool was not sustainable, and results from traditional recruitment efforts were declining.
Brand Awareness: Because the company does not advertise its sales or products, regional brand awareness was low. This made it difficult to attract candidates the way a consumer-facing employer could.
Recruitment Strategy: A creative new approach was needed to promote Natoma’s employment brand. The company also needed a reliable onboarding pipeline to close its manufacturing skills gap in hard-to-fill, high-turnover roles.
Average Cost-Per-Hire by Industry
The Solution
Building the Pipeline: The company began by increasing participation in community engagement and awareness activities within the region. Staff attended high school career fairs to promote their employment brand. This showed students a viable alternative to college after graduation, and through these efforts, a real interest in summer positions and internships developed.
Structured Onboarding, Not Just a Summer Job: The pilot began small, with a summer internship-to-employee onboarding program for high school juniors in the area. Students began by shadowing an employee, then completed a WorkForge skills training course relevant to that job. After passing the course assessment, students moved into hands-on work. They spent two weeks in each department before rotating to the next, building a real skills matrix across the plant floor. Once cycled through each department, students chose the area they liked most for their final two weeks.
Beyond Technical Training: A unique aspect of this program’s success was its focus on more than just the production floor. The company also used WorkForge skills courses to strengthen students’ soft skills and life skills. This included job readiness, career building, critical thinking, and effective communication, the same skills students need to succeed, not just at Natoma, but in any career search.
Looking ahead
Natoma Manufacturing turned a summer internship pilot into a lasting talent pipeline that closes its manufacturing skills gap year after year. As a result, the company cut recruitment strain, strengthened team performance, and unlocked over $100,000 in potential annual savings from converted interns alone.
Ready to build your own homegrown talent pipeline? Book a demo with our team today.
